Atlas
by Unoriginality
Summary: 50 1Sentences based in the OoT/MM manga timeline.


_God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight._

_Cover_

Link's earliest memories came in brief images and feelings, fleeting wisps of foggy impressions that drifted unhindered in his dreams; a woman, and rain and fire, fear and confusion until he felt himself put under the cover of the Deku Tree's branches, and then the dreams would fade into a peaceful slumber.

_Box_

When Link was five years old, he'd hand-carved an ocarina for Saria when the one she'd had up until then broke; when he saw the much better one that Mido gave her, he took the ocarina he'd made and hid it in a box that he buried behind his house, and never showed it to her.

_Fever_

Link had only been sick once in his life before he left the forest, when he was a very young boy; Saria had moved him (with help from others, he supposed, there was no way she could've carried him all by herself) down from his house to her own and sat vigil by him as she combated and waited out the fever.

_Fall_

Link always loved fall the best, when the fruit of the trees in the forest split open, and new fairy orbs filled the air and lit up the entire forest, like stars had come to settle on the earth below.

_Talent_

Link was a boy of many talents, but acting was not among the skills he could boast, and he all too happily handed the role of fairy prince over to Mido for the festival play.

_Journey_

It was more than a day's journey from the Kokiri Forest to Hyrule Castle Town, Link discovered, and he couldn't have been more grateful to be given a ride by a man taking a delivery in to the town on a cart.

_View_

Once his heart found a normal pace again after Impa half-shoved him out of a high window in the castle, Link's breath was taken away by the view of Hyrule from his new vantage point; he barely heard a word she said, taking in his first real glimpse of just how big and beautiful his homeland really was.

_Dance_

Despite his size, Darunia was an excellent dancer, and Link enjoyed the evening festivities with the Gorons, dancing and singing with his new Sworn Brother and friend.

_Fire_

He'd been borne of the flames i(steel put to fire, melted and shaped)/i, pulled from the ashes and healed before being turned out; it was from the cold embers i(hammered and cooled, tempered until it was unbreakable)/i that had destroyed Hyrule Castle that the Hero of Time finally claimed the Master Sword.

_Eclipse_

In the seven years Link had been sealed inside the Sacred Realm, a shadow had moved over Hyrule, and even the sun seemed darker for it; Link vowed not to let Gannondorf get away with the damage he'd done to his homeland.

_Gravity_

Link had understood the day that the Deku Tree died just what sort of man he would be facing in the days to come, but the true weight of his destiny came crashing down on him when he saw what had become of Hyrule Castle.

_Hero_

The Hero of Time was legendary, a champion of the gods and of time itself, but more often than not, Link just felt like a kid trying to fill shoes far too big for him.

_Dream_

Link's dreams since the day the goddess of Time whispered the call for the Hero into his ear had never been his own, not once flights of fancy that spun themselves into distorted and surreal stories, but memories mingled with warnings, hushed secrets of the divine making themselves known to him, their chosen one.

_Red_

His little friend was hardly little anymore- he'd grown to enormous proportions, long and serpentine, but Link would recognize those bright red scales anywhere; the only problem was that his friend no longer remembered him.

_Wait_

He'd known better, he'd _known_ what had to be done, but faced with the face of his old friend, Link had hesitated and it'd cost the Gorons dearly.

_Overwhelmed_

He'd been beaten, battered and overwhelmed by the time he staggered across the plain towards Kakariko Village; the time spent there among friends was a rest he'd desperately needed, breathing life back into his tired spirit.

_Candle_

Impa would sit up, most nights, Link noticed when he stayed with her, reading ancient tomes and spell workings written by her people, the candle on the table next to her burning steadily long into still of the night; he would pretend to sleep, listening to her hum the song of the royal family quietly as she read.

_Laugh_

Link laughed easily, something that always seemed to bring a smile to the faces of those around him, even in the darkest of moments.

_Strength_

He was a formidable opponent in battle- few made the mistake of thinking otherwise- but it was always the strength of his heart that people remembered once he'd left their company.

_Ice_

His heart had stopped when he'd seen the ice encasing all of Zora's Domain, and he'd gladly gone with Ruto to the Water Temple to undo the damage to the home of his old friends.

_Lies_

Sheik confused him; on one hand, it was clear to Link that there was something deceptive about the young man, but on the other hand, something beyond Link's own trusting nature told him to have faith in the Sheikah- Link settled on dubbing him 'that annoying pain in the ass'.

_Temptation_

Most men might be tempted to give up, wash their hands of the situation and maybe even flee Hyrule (and who could blame them?), but the thought never crossed Link's mind; if he gave up, he would never see Zelda again.

_Hurricane_

It was the briefest of moments, quiet and peaceful as he spoke with Zelda, her face as beautiful as he remembered it; but it was only the calm of the eye of the hurricane as the world shook and suddenly, Zelda was gone from his life again.

_Run_

It seemed like an endless flight of stairs, and Link ran up every single step, spurred on by the ever-present sound of an organ, knowing that there was only one place left that Gannondorf and Zelda could be: at the top.

_Sacred_

It was strange for him to think that he was a vessel for as holy a power as the Triforce of Courage, and that the sword he shed blood with was sacred.

_World_

For a moment, the entire world was still, save the ragged breathing of the fallen king of evil, and the quiet hum of power from the Master Sword in Link's hand, and then the stillness was broken as the final blow was struck.

_Formal_

For once, the light-hearted Link was solemn as he knelt before Princess Zelda and swore to her that he would always fight, for her, and for Hyrule, not just as the Hero of Time, but as _him_.

_Whisper_

Her words had been quick, nearly jumbled together, voice a mere whisper in his ear as she embraced him and then stepped back, wishing him farewell and good luck in his search for Navi; he'd caught them all the same, and smiled warmly, silently telling her that he loved her, too.

_Memory_

Somehow, Zelda knew when Link left in search of his lost friend, that she would never see him again; she comforted herself with the knowledge that while she may not have been his future, she would always be his memory.

_Lock_

When he left Hyrule, he took the keys to the Sacred Realm with him and scattered them to the four winds, so that the door could never be opened again.

_Silence_

During those long months travelling Hyrule, Navi had been a constant companion, and someone who didn't mind Link's desire to chatter; once she was gone, Link travelled in silence, only occasionally speaking to Epona to give commands or comfort.

_Search_

Link had gone in search of an old friend who'd gone missing, and found a world full of new friends, waiting to for him to meet them.

_Talk_

Tatl did most of the talking as they travelled, explaining things about Termina that only a native such as herself would know, and fretting often about her younger brother; Link would merely smile as he listened to her, thinking of how much it reminded him of the traveling with Navi.

_Wings_

Tatl discovered quickly that Link was easily roused from sleep by the flutter of her wings against his ears; it was the same trick Navi had used during the days of their travels together.

_Breathe_

Link should've noticed the poison in the swamp when he'd first entered, but he hadn't somehow until it was too late, until he couldn't ibreathe/i, suffocating on the toxic water.

_Cold_

Link smiled as he felt the cold evaporating off his skin, spring taking over the mountainside as the unnatural winter melted away.

_Body_

It never ceased to be weird, feeling the power of the masks altering his body's shape to match that of the spirits sealed in the simple wooden decorations.

_Unknown_

Link had a history of hating and despising wells, or more accurately, having to wander through them, so when he learned that the only way into Ikana Castle was through an underground passage in the well, he groaned and swore a blue streak as he lowered himself down into the unknown.

_Hope_

Link never gave up hope- he couldn't, after all, because he knew that the last of the hope for the future so often fell on his shoulders to carry, that if he gave up, then there really wasn't anything left for the people who counted on him.

_Midnight_

Midnight of the festival's Eve marked the start of the final countdown, and Termina held its breath as Link and Kafei ran up the steps of the clock tower.

_Silk_

He watched from a distance as Anju approached Kafei, and remembered another girl who wore a silk dress; idly, he thought to end his quest and go home, while home was still his to go to, but he dismissed the thought as he turned and rode off.

_Farewells_

Over the years, Link noticed that all the good-byes he had to say were said quickly, and without another look back; he decided that was just as well- he wasn't sure if he would've been able to leave anywhere if he had to see a friend cry.

_Music_

Over the years, Link would pass the time with his ocarina; his songs became his only companions.

_Mask_

Even years later, he'd still awake from nightmares, drenched in sweat and shivering, memories of the ogre god's blood-stained history still lingering at the edges of his awareness; Link knew that no matter what he'd told his friends, the mask had claimed him as its own.

_Drink_

The first taste of alcohol Link ever had was a rushed swig that he ended up coughing up half of anyway, hastily administered during a surgery to dull the pain as the doctor stitched up his side.

_Forgotten_

When he finally returned to Hyrule- a man then, and no longer a child- he quickly found solace inside the Temple of Time; running his fingers along the cool stones inside the sanctuary, feeling the spirits that resided there welcoming him back, he realized that in the time he'd been gone, in the years that history never knew existed, the only thing in his homeland that had not forgotten about the Hero was the temple itself.

_Ring_

The day Link saw the ring on Princess Zelda's finger was the day he realized that as long as peace ruled the land, Zelda belonged to the world of nobles and royals.

_Promise_

He kept his promises and watched over her while she slept, even though Zelda had long ago released him from his vows.

_Highway_

He went where he was needed, a wanderer, following his destiny to where people were in need i(and he rolls, he's a river)/i; she was a princess, a ruler, bound to her people and her station i(and she rolls, she's a highway)/i, and their bridge had already crossed over.

_Forever_

With the death of the last of the sages, the Hero was able to rest, knowing that without their power, the seal to the Sacred Realm would never be opened, and he was no longer needed.


End file.
